So earlier I got an email informing me that John D. Maatta has been named President and CEO of Wizard World, Inc., effective Tuesday, May 3, 2016.

Wizard World, Inc. Appoints John D. Maatta President and Chief Executive OfficerWizard World, Inc. today announced the appointment of John D. Maatta as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Wizard World is the leading producer in North America of…

So earlier I got an email informing me that John D. Maatta has been named President and CEO of Wizard World, Inc., effective Tuesday, May 3, 2016.

Wizard World, Inc. Appoints John D. Maatta President and Chief Executive Officer
Wizard World, Inc. today announced the appointment of John D. Maatta as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Wizard World is the leading producer in North America of events and comic conventions that celebrate the very best of pop culture, celebrity, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology and live music.

“John brings Wizard World his solid entertainment industry experience and proven success in creating innovative content and distribution strategies. Wizard World is poised to expand its already significant footprint, and John will work with us to guide the company to its next phase of growth and beyond,” said Paul Kessler, Chairman of the Wizard World Board of Directors.

Maatta has enjoyed a particularly successful career as an entertainment executive, having served as the first employee of the WB Television Network, as well as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of both the WB and the CW Television Network—where he was the co-head of the network for more than six years. Maatta served in various capacities as an executive at Warner Bros and Lorimar-Telepictures Corporation for almost 28 years.

“Wizard World is the preeminent producer of pop culture multi-city tours that aggregates huge audiences of fans across the country. Wizard World comic conventions are high-energy events bringing entertainment fans the most sought-after and interesting celebrities and content from movies, television and music to technology and sports. Wizard World is on the verge of becoming an especially powerful force in the entertainment industry as it rapidly expands into the area of content creation together with the launch of new distribution initiatives. Wizard World stands squarely at the intersection of the audience, celebrities and cutting edge content. Wizard events are the sweet spot where the entertainment industry interacts one-on-one with its audience,” said Maatta.
Mr. Maatta currently serves as the President of UNICEF in Southern California, and as Chairman of the UNICEF Chinese Children’s Initiative. Additionally, Mr. Maatta serves on the Board of Trader Vic’s Corporation, and is a member of the advisory Board of the Asia Society.
Mr. Maatta’s appointment will be effective as of May 3, 2016.

Wizard World, Inc. (www.wizardworld.com) produces comic convention pop culture events across North America that celebrate the best in celebrities, pop culture, movies, television, music, sports, cosplay, comics, technology, video gaming, sci-fi, gaming, original art, and collectibles. A first-class lineup of topical programming takes place at each Wizard event, with celebrity Q&A’s, comics-themed sessions, movie screenings, and music concerts Wizard World has also launched Wizard World Store (www.shopwizardworld.com), CONtv, a digital media channel in partnership with leading independent content distributor Cinedigm™ (NASDAQ: CIDM), and ComicConBox™ (www.comicconbox.com), a premium subscription-based monthly box service. Fans can access Wizard World on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and other social media platforms.

So back in Jan. 26 of this year, I had the change to sit down and do a podcast Garrett Wang aka Ensign Harry Kim of Star Trek Voyager. A group of us got together on Trek1701 Podcast and interview/chat with him. The whole podcast is about 2 hours long, give or take. Garrett was a super nice guy and beyond funny. Plus he does a great George Takei hahaha :). At any rate I hope you all enjoy this…

So back in Jan. 26 of this year, I had the change to sit down and do a podcast Garrett Wang aka Ensign Harry Kim of Star Trek Voyager. A group of us got together on Trek1701 Podcast and interview/chat with him. The whole podcast is about 2 hours long, give or take. Garrett was a super nice guy and beyond funny. Plus he does a great George Takei hahaha :). At any rate I hope you all enjoy this podcast and interview that we were so lucky to do. Sorry it took so long to get the podcast out. It was all about timing and with the podcast shows going, just needed to wait. BUT! Here it is, the wait is over!

Hey it’s Jason Bucky Roberts!! So last month I was lucky enough to go to Comic Con and interview a number of people. As I wrote in my blog about sharing everything with you. I’m sorry it took so long to publish. There was a lot of personal problems that had come up and caused this podcast and other projects to take a back seat. Sadly I’m the editor and recorder for the this podcast (currently). So if something happens to me or I’m not able to make it, the podcast gets pushed back… For that I’m sorry :(. But!! Now we find ourselves here and talking about Comic Con!! On this podcast we have interviews with James Marsters, Christian Kane and Victor Dandridge!! Plus a small little interview with my kids on their first time at Comic Con :). I hope you all enjoy!!

Here we are asked to look at our theme and make some changes. Or if we haven’t started anything yet with the blog, go through and pick one out that we are happy with and take it from there.

Now I’ve changed themes over the years and currently I rather enjoy the theme and lay out. I’m am in the middle of working on getting new logos made for my site. Like a new banner/header or a side button or a…

Hi my name is Tony and thanks for visiting my site. While working on a recent project about comic books, I started reflecting on how the cultural perceptions of nerds have changed over the past couple of decades. While this very special demographic (which I proudly identify with) is still largely misunderstood, it is more mainstream than ever due to the rise in technology, the popularity of superhero movies, and the explosion of the video game industry…….

Hello, my name is Sean Ian Mills, and I am a self-proclaimed geek, nerd, dork and all of the above. Somehow, through the magic of the Internet, you have stumbled upon my blog. Good for you. You are now at least 20% cooler than everyone else in your life. I am the Henchman-4-Hire, and this is my own little corner of these Internets, where I blather on about comic books, movies, video games, superheroes and anything else that crosses my wee little mind.

Team Hellions began in 2007. Originally a way to collect and share information on Cloverfield (yes, that was the inspiration, crazy I know) the site very quickly morphed into something else. Over the years the site has become a source and destination for discussion on comic books, wrestling, books, movies and more in the worlds of geek and pop culture. In this journey millions of readers have come to this site…..

What is funny, I use to follow these bloggers and and never thought I would be come friends with them. But we’ve become the best of friends and find ourselves doing a lot of projects with each other. So if you find yourself with sometime to kill or looking for ideas. I’d say give these bloggers a look over/read, they are a lot of fun and full of knowledge.

2: Identify Your Audience

With this assignment we are to write about,”hoping that someone in particular will see (and appreciate) our work.” It’s an interesting idea to write for only one person or a group of people in mind. I don’t think I have ever really done that. I mean with my Star Trek Book Challenge I guess you can say I’m writing those for a certain group of people/fans. But at the same time I share it with everyone to read.

My audience…. I never really thought of having one person read my blog. Or I should say hoping for a certain someone read my blog… I really made it for me and my life. I’m sharing it with everyone who is willing to sit there and read or listen. Oh sure it’s great when one of your hero’s or what have you, find your site and like something. Don’t get me wrong! But I really made this for myself and share my stories. I know some of them have helped people with parenting or design or just everyday life.

I like to have fun with my blog and I hope it shows. I think it shows.

Once upon a time there was a pre-teen dorky girl living in Texas trying to figure out what her next toy obsession would be. Out of nowhere came a toy line she never knew she needed but was so glad to grab her lovely hands on. The line was called Swans Crossing and unknown to her she would one day get to befriend the woman who designed and created the toy lin […]

It's been awhile. So click the link for some spooky fun!It's Halloween! Under normal circumstances I would be doing my annual April O'Neil Halloween Bash featuring your favorite toys in full on soapy melodrama. However this year things are a little different. My previous post on here was all about my joy of the Savage World Horror line by Funk […]

It has been... a rough year so far. And I don't mean the "Man it sucks that David Bowie and Prince died..." kind of rough (although aaarrrggghhh!!!). I mean the "Wow, I may be changing absolutely everything about my life in the next few months and my entire future is uncertain..." kind of rough.My collection has taken a major hit as […]

It would be too easy to fall back on size-based puns when talking about Godzilla, so let's just say that 2016 is a very important year for everyone's favorite radioactive monster. He may have celebrated his 60th anniversary a couple years back with the release of Legendary Pictures' Godzilla (2014), the second American-produced film in the fra […]

2015 was not particularly great for It's Trash Culture. My attention shifted from posting here and turned to other social medias, like Twitter and Instagram, where minimum effort paid out a much larger reward. Those accounts have accumulated several hundred more followers than this blog, which is equal parts awesome and sorta' heart-breaking. Neith […]